"accidie, n." - Word of the Day from the OED

[David Morris]

Happy might be your torpor in disguise.

On Thursday, January 5, 2012, Ian Livingston <igrlivingston at gmail.com>
wrote:
> I deny the existence of Gasteriskd, Ghyphend, and Gunderscored, and I
> welcome anyone who believes in any of them to demonstrate that they
> are happier than I am. Spiritual malaise rarely troubles me, except
> sometimes when I don't get enough sunlight. But I really don't think
> that's the same as accidia.
>
> On Thu, Jan 5, 2012 at 6:12 PM, Charles Albert <cfalbert at gmail.com> wrote:
>> I first came across it in an Irving Howe essay on Fathers & Sons in
which he
>> defined it as "that torpor of the spirit which derives its strength from
the
>> denial of the existence of G*d."
>>
>> For some reason it has stuck with me for more than 30 years...
>>
>> love,
>> cfa
>>
>>
>> On Thu, Jan 5, 2012 at 6:15 AM, Mark Kohut <markekohut at yahoo.com> wrote:
>>>
>>> And it seems Mr. Sacred & Profane Durkheim raised awareness
>>> of this word/concept high in his book Suicide.....
>>>
>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>> From: Dave Monroe <against.the.dave at gmail.com>
>>> To: pynchon -l <pynchon-l at waste.org>
>>> Cc:
>>> Sent: Wednesday, January 4, 2012 7:49 PM
>>> Subject: Fwd: "accidie, n." - Word of the Day from the OED
>>>
>>> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
>>> From:  <oedwotd at oup.com>
>>> Date: Wed, Jan 4, 2012 at 7:30 PM
>>> Subject: "accidie, n." - Word of the Day from the OED
>>> To: OEDWOTD-AMER-L at webber.uk.hub.oup.com
>>>
>>>
>>> OED Online Word of the Day
>>>
>>> The December 2011 quarterly update is now available. New words from
>>> across the dictionary include bibimbap, chermoula, earworm,
>>> posilutely, and traceur. Find out more...
>>>
>>> ________________________________
>>>
>>> Your word for today is: accidie, n.
>>>
>>> accidie, n.
>>> Pronunciation: Brit. /ˈaksᵻdi/,  U.S. /ˈæksədi/
>>> Forms: α.   ME accedie,   ME accidy,   ME accidye,   ME–15 accydye,
>>> ME– accidie.  β.   ME accide,   ME accyde.
>>> Etymology: <  Anglo-Norman accidie (13th cent.), Anglo-Norman and Old
>>> French, Middle French accide (13th cent.; French accide, now arch.) <
>>> post-classical Latin accidia (8th cent. in a British source; also in
>>> an undated glossary; occasionally also as acidia and accedia),
>>> alteration (see below) of acedia spiritual sloth, mental weariness
>>> (5th cent., as also as name of one of the deadly sins: see acedia n.).
>>> Compare accidia n., and later acedia n. and acedy n.
>>> The post-classical Latin form accidia probably results either from
>>> folk-etymological association with accidere (see accident n.) or from
>>> a Greek sound change, or may partly reflect both causes. The rare form
>>> acidia probably reflects the (folk-etymological) association with
>>> classical Latin acidus sour (see acid adj.) recorded by Caesarius of
>>> Heisterbach (13th cent.).
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> In Middle English and early modern English the position of the main
>>> stress apparently varied between the first and second syllables.
>>>  Now chiefly arch. and literary.
>>>   Physical or mental slothfulness, esp. as a condition leading to
>>> listlessness and lack of interest in life; apathy, lethargy, torpor;
>>> (also) †an instance of this (obs.).
>>> Regarded esp. in early use as characteristic of or equivalent to the
>>> ‘deadly sin’ of Sloth, and in Christian asceticism as a condition to
>>> which monks and hermits were particularly liable.
>>> ?c1225 (1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 155 Þenne is hit
>>> scheomeles [read ȝemeles] under accidie, þet ich slauðe cleopede, þe
>>> ne warneð oðer of his lure oðer of his biȝete.
>>> c1330 (1300) Speculum Guy (Auch.) l. 121 Accedie is as sleuþes broþer,
>>> Wicke on and wicke oþer.
>>> a1393  Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) iv. l. 539 To serve Accidie in
>>> his office, Ther is of Slowthe an other vice, Which cleped is<--
> "Less than any man have I  excuse for prejudice; and I feel for all
> creeds the warm sympathy of one who has come to learn that even the
> trust in reason is a precarious faith, and that we are all fragments
> of darkness groping for the sun. I know no more about the ultimates
> than the simplest urchin in the streets." -- Will Durant
>
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